Please Register / Login to take part in discussions about the Virgin Islands.
I'm not spooked about the crime there but I am aware that some does exits (like everywhere else in the world), Ny question is this: Is most of the violent crime aimed at tourists or is it the locals who are victims?
I think I saw where 55,000 live on St Thomas. How many murders per year does St Thomas average? I have seen this number anywhere from 18-55 murders per year. Surely there are official numbers somewhere.
Probably the best way to get that information is to check on www.viginislandsdailynews.com. Click on some of the headings on the left side of the page.
Bassman
Hello rh1958,
Population, 2000 Census
St. Thomas - 51,181
St. John - 4,197
St. Croix - 53,234
Water Island - 161
Most of the crime (violent & property) are against residents.
You inquired about murders. On the VIPD website they provide some statistics over a 10 year period 1990-2000. For St. Thomas, over the 10 years - 149 murders are indicated, 2 involving visitors. Doing an average that is 15 a year, however looking at the statistics they range from 8 in 1990 to 20 in 1994.
On St. Croix for the same time frame of 10 years a total of 117 are indicated, 3 involving visitors.
The VIPD website has more specifics. http://www.vipd.gov.vi/crime/statistics.aspx
The Daily News reported a total of 30 murders in the Virgin Islands for 2003 and 36 in 2004. (Total Population, 2000 census - 108,773)
For 2005 the Daily News reports 17 murders, 8 on St. Thomas (2 involving visitors) and 9 on St. Croix.
--Islander
Your reply should really put visitors at ease. I think the crime rate here in Charleston, SC is higher than that. We average 50 some muders a year with most of them being in a 2-3 square mile area that everyone knows to avoid.
Thanks
